Only Human
by Inscriber
Summary: Conner is the clone of Superman, nearly invincible, almost invulnerable. He doesn't need to worry about getting hurt. But when Robin gets seriously injured on a mission, he must face what it really means to be only human.


Only Human

Summary: Conner is the clone of Superman, nearly invincible, almost invulnerable. He doesn't need to worry about getting hurt. But when Robin gets seriously injured on a mission, he must face what it really means to be only human.

Conner effortlessly picked up the nearest thug, like he weighed nothing more than a doll, and then lightly tossed to the side, the simple motion contradicting the heavy thud and pained gasp that erupted from the man as he hit the wall painfully and sank to the floor like an anchor.

Conner gave his surroundings a quick glance, his eyes searching for every teammate carefully, allowing his enhanced vision to perfectly pick out each one of them in seconds.

Aqualad had two swords of solidified, glowing water poised threateningly towards a group of three guys, all wearing the same creepy clown masks that his own thug had been sporting. Though he couldn' see their faces, he could somehow sense there worried expressions as they realized the tides had turned from the earlier ambush. Conner instinctively took a step forward, but he stopped abruptly when his eyes caught the quickest of flickers that normally wouldn't have been seen, and he allowed himself a half-smile as Kid Flash's fist collided with one of the men's jaw. From somewhere behind him, he heard a distinct _twang_, and instantly a well-aimed arrow flew expertly past Conner's ear, and landed on the middle man's chest before erupting into a sticky red foam that swelled around his struggling form.

The last man turned to face Aqualad, his clown mask still molded into the inappropriate smile, and seemed to make a decision. He dropped his weapon and ran. However, the jog was almost pathetic to watch, as the man was chubby and already slowing down. Conner saw Miss Martian turn visible and raise her hand in the man's direction. Suddenly, he was lifted off the ground, his feet still wriggling uselessly as he tried to continue his dismal 'run'. Conner heard another arrow take flight, and a few moments later it appeared into view, exploding into a net inches away from the chubby clown's chest, surrounding him instantly before Megan finally placed him back down on the ground, writhing against his newly found restraints.

"Is that all of 'em?" the speedster asked, and Conner glanced down to see the redhead now by his side, though his eyes were focused on Aqualad.

The Atlantian had just finished sheathing his water bearers, and he did a quick survey of the area, a subway.

"I would say yes, was I more accustomed to the Joker's henchmen's style. However, I think we should ask Robin on this matter. What do you think, Robin?" the leader asked, his gray eyes becoming puzzled as he saw the Boy Wonder was not amongst his surrounding team, "Robin?"

"Did he go ninja on us again?" Wally asked in frustration, his bright green eyes darting quickly around the room.

"Maybe-" Artemis began, but she was cut off by an explosive bang that echoed emptily in the hollow tunnels of the subway. Conner had never felt such a cold emptiness in his life, never such dread of the sound of gunshot, as he did at that moment. In perfect clarity, he heard a weak, heart-stopping gasp, and then heavy _thump_ land only a little ways deeper off in the tunnel.

The whole team moved into action milliseconds later, though Wally and Conner quickly took the lead, Conner only a few strides behind the speedster.

The two quickly stopped though, Conner's heals digging instantly into the freezing cement beneath him as his cobalt eyes landed on Robin.

The Boy Wonder was on flat on his back, his hands held firm and steady against his hip, but the rest of his body was shaking in small tremors; though Conner wasn't sure if that was because of the small, restrained sobs that cleverly escaped the little bird, or because of the shock. A little pool of blood was collecting, dribbling up from beneath Robin's gloves from the wound they were obviously covering. The guy who'd done it was long gone.

Strangely, it took Superboy a minute to make the connection between the gunshot and Robin's appearance.

Robin's head tilted up to face them, drawing back Superboy's attention.

"Guys," Robin coughed a bit, a shaky smile that didn't fit his current condition flashing across his face before a more suiting serious one replaced it, "I got shot."

Wally was the first to react, pulling out his communicator, his words a blur as he spoke rapidly at Robin, though Superboy though he had picked up the word _duh_ rather distinctively. Suddenly the speedtalk shifted, and his voice returned to normal as he began speaking hurriedly into his communicator.

"Yeah, _shot…_I just said he got _shot_, how could he be okay? …I am calm!" The speedster shouted, his voice strained before he took a deep breath as Conner guessed he'd been instructed to do, "Okay, he's bleeding from his left side, the hip…I don't know how it happened! We were fighting and – Let's analyze _how_ after we fix him! We'll be there in soon!" Wally shouted, ending the conversation.

Conner was silent as the team put Robin in his strong arms, the teen somehow seeming even lighter than he used to. And colder. He was also silent all the way back to Mount Justice. And when he watched them hook up Robin to the IVs, the heart monitor, and a few more machines Conner didn't have a name for, though somewhere in his mind he knew he knew them from his Genomorph 'teachers'.

He was too filled with thoughts to speak.

One bullet.

One measly bullet that weighed only ounces.

That's all it had taken.

The sounds of the Medical Bay's numerous equipment were beeping away in the background, swarming together like bees, buzzing at him. But he wasn't focused on that.

He wasn't focused on Kaldur, who stood watch directly next to him, or Kid Flash, who was on his other side, looking like he was ready to kill something or cry. He wasn't focused on Artemis or even M'gann, though both loomed somewhere behind. Poor, sweet Megan couldn't take the sight of all that blood, and Artemis had gone to comfort her when it became clear the Conner himself was too focused on the hospital bed.

Conner's eyes, a dark colbolt flecked with innocent dashes of baby blue, were glued to Robin's unmoving form. It was completely still, only the rise and fall of his thin chest indicating the life it so barely had held onto. His black hair was the only thing that colored the white hospital bed, Robin's costume having already been replaced by white hospital garb, the same empty color of the pure white sheets that he was nestled in, the same _exact_ color of his pale, washed-out skin.

Conner had never realized how…_fragile_ humans were.

No, that wasn't right. He'd always known how feeble a human body was, how their skin ripped like tissue paper, and how their limbs could snap like twigs. To be more accurate, he'd never once applied this to his two human teammates. Or rather, he'd simply forgotten.

He had remembered at first, somewhere in the back of his mind. When he had first seen Robin, and his mind was cold and calculating, he'd disregarded him as a threat. Robin was young, even by human standards, and he was light and frail. He didn't have powers like the Atlantian or the Meta he had been keeping company with. Even when Conner had originally joined the team, he'd kept in mind Robin's lack of powers and strength.

But as Conner had come to know him, his merely human status had become less and less important. After all, Robin had never had trouble keeping up, it was clear his combat skills far outranked anyone else's, and very often his skills proved more useful than brute strength. His human rank had become nearly meaningless, and the respect had passed on even to Artemis and her powerless standing.

Superboy felt a flash of anger, his eyebrows knitting together and contorting his face in obvious frustration.

_He should have been there_.

He was Superboy! He was the clone of Superman! He bore the famous insignia of Superman's shield. He should have _been Robin's shield._

Bullets were _nothing_ to him. They bounced off his chest like disheartened gnats, not even as painful as lowly _mosquito bites._ What kind of superhero was he, if he couldn't even save his own teammate?

He should have been the hero. Robin was only human.

Conner was the only one still in the room, which surprised even him. Wally had been with him for a while, though none of them had said much. It was their obligation. Wally, because he was the Boy Wonder's closest friend, and Conner because he hadn't _been there_. However, Wally had his own weakness, and had left minutes ago to refuel.

So he was alone, alone with the human he'd unintentionally failed.

He was also alone when Robin's eyes started to flicker open and then dart his way. A thin smile tilted Robin's face, and his hand reached up to push away some of his raven-colored hair that had fallen over his eyes.

"Hey, Supes." Conner winced at Robin's scratched voice, as though the bullet had managed to mangle his voice as well.

"Are you okay?" Conner asked, his gaze flickering over at the spot where Robin had been bleeding.

"Well…I kind of feel like I got shot." Robin reasoned, before seeming to think it over and add, "Yeah, I'm okay. Batman's going to be upset though. I should have gone on offence instead of defense. Rooky mistake."

Superboy double-checked to make sure Robin was being serious, and found he was. However, instead of commenting on the boy's obviously misplaced concerns, he found different words spilling from his mouth.

"I'd forgotten how fragile humans were." Conner deadpanned.

Robin glanced over at him, his mask hiding the surprised expression in his eyes.

"What?"

Conner shrugged, seeing no use in trying to take back his words, "Kaldur is strong, and bullets don't penetrate his skin easily; and besides, he can make a shield to defend himself. Miss Martian can telepathically block them, stop them before they even get near her. Kid Flash can just move out of the way. But you, you and Artemis…You just get shot."

Robin paused, considering Conner's words – though the painkillers in his system made him have to think a little harder– before he laughed.

"Yeah, that sucks."

"How can you be so accepting?" Conner asked, not being able to decide whether to be angry or awed by the response, "You're weak when compared to us." Conner attempted to explain. He couldn't wrap his mind around it, couldn't imagine being injured so mortally by a single shard of metal that weighed only ounces. He had even less understanding for how someone could be okay with it. He didn't know how Robin could be so flippant about it, and still continue to fight on the Team.

Robin didn't seemed fazed at all though.

"That's the thing about being human though – we keep going even though we're not as strong or fast. In fact, that's kinda what keeps us in the game, alert. We've got something to prove I guess, some kind of hope that that pushes us to keep going. It's like our own special superpower." Robin smiled softly, and Conner heard footsteps approaching. Probably some alert had informed everyone of Robin's awakening.

"Oh." Conner stated bluntly, before he moved away from the bedside so Batman could take over and the rest of the team could talk to their injured teammate. Instead of crowding around him like the others, Conner shifted himself into the corner, watching things unfold while he thought on Robin's words.

Robin seemed to consider his vulnerability an advantage, which puzzled him. But what was really eating at him was how he had addressed his lack of abilities as a superpower. Even lying on a hospital bed, Robin had been _relaxed_ with his weakness, _laughing_. But at the same time, Conner could feel little patches of understanding starting to ripple through him.

He had never once seen Robin give up. In the simulation, he'd immediately taken control once Aqualad had 'died'. He's assumed leadership openly and without question, despite the fact he had no powers of all, no safety net. He'd never lost hope in the simulation either – he'd been disheartened a few times, yeah, but he'd pushed ahead. And now that he thought about it, Robin had risked his life very willingly in every mission they had, often leaving the safety of the group to handle things on his own. He pulled his own weight and more.

Conner flicked a glance at Batman, Artemis, and finally Robin. Batman was wearing his characteristic scowl, and Artemis was displaying a soft smile that seemed to say she was happy to see Robin's recovery, and Robin himself was wearing a wide grin and assuring everyone he felt fine, despite the hole in his side. Actually, his exact words were 'feeling the aster'.

And then Conner felt his lips tilt, slant into a half smile, as a little more understanding seeped through.

Robin was human – he was weak, easily broken, his body fragile. He could be taken down by a mere bullet that weighed no more than a few ounces. But he didn't give up, either, despite his obvious disadvantage – he didn't think of his weaknesses as limits, simply guidelines.

He thought of his human status as his own special power. Conner paused.

Maybe there was something to being only human.

Author's Note: I have been attacked by hordes of plot bunnies lately. This one in particular. I have a multi-chapter I should be working on, but apparently they don't care about that. As always, please review. I feed them to the plot bunnies so they stop gnawing on my brain.


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